The Snape Charmer
by madamsnape78
Summary: An act of kindness on Harry's part will set in motion a series of events that will end up changing Hermione's life forever. SSHG, Post DH, EWE.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: This was written for Clare009 on the SSHG exchange on LiveJournal. Because it is already finished, I will be posting about one chapter a day._

_Endless thanks to RenitaLeandra who was so helpful in making this fic better than I ever could have made it on my own._

* * *

**The Snape Charmer**

Chapter 1

Years later, the subject of who to blame for Hermione Granger and Severus Snape falling in love would become a common source of entertainment and argument amongst their friends. Most frequently it was Harry Potter, who was alternately credited or criticized (depending on who was involved in the discussion), for the role that he had played. Generally, Kingsley Shacklebolt was also mentioned, since Harry couldn't have done what he did without the Minister's approval. There was also Hermione, who had certainly been heavily involved and, of course, there was Severus himself, who had had a significant hand in the matter. Even, a few would argue, Voldemort and Nagini had played their part. After all, had it not been for the nearly successful attempt on his life, Severus would not have paid Hermione the slightest notice

That attempt was so successful, in fact, that two months after the defeat of Voldemort, as far as everyone was concerned Severus Snape was dead and buried in a hastily dug and poorly marked grave on a stretch of land between Hogwarts and Hogsmeade. This was in the same manner that all those who'd had no family to lay claim to their bodies had been buried. It had been enough to create a small cemetery in which about a dozen undersized headstones could be seen from the road. It was not an attractive place and many people whispered about what a shame it was that so many of the fallen had not been given a better resting place. However, when the Battle of Hogwarts had ended, and Voldemort was defeated, the true devastation of the war could be seen everywhere in Britain. From the damage and injuries inflicted at Hogwarts, to the hundreds of people who had been wrongly imprisoned, to the devastated economy resulting from a year of living cut off from the rest of the wizarding world. Because of this, all the resources were put towards helping the living survive and painfully little was left to be spared for those who had died.

This was why, eight weeks after the battle, Harry made it known that he felt it was time that Snape should have a proper burial. His announcement, made at the kitchen table of The Burrow, was met with the general astonishment of all those present. That morning, it happened to be Mrs. Weasley, Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Xeno and Luna Lovegood, who were staying at The Burrow.Repairs continued on their own home which had suffered greatly from both the exploding Erumpent horn and from being unoccupied for the following six months. Most everyone was still having a hard time coming to grasp with this new Snape-friendly version of Harry that had manifested itself since the Battle of Hogwarts. This was why, as soon as the words left his lips, everyone stared at him, several with their mouths hanging open.

"What?" he asked defensively, shoving a piece of bacon into his mouth. "It's shameful the way everyone was just tossed into the ground like they did."

Molly made a pained, choking noise and Harry immediately regretted his choice of words. Fred had had a beautiful funeral, complete at the end with a magnificent display of Wild-Fire Whiz Bangs. Still, it had probably not been the best way for Harry to explain his feelings.

"What I mean," he said, hastily clarifying his statement, "is that Snape did as much for us…me… as anybody. I thought perhaps burying him next to Dumbledore would be the right thing to do."

This was met with more stunned silence and it seemed that everyone was at a loss of what to say. It was Luna who was the first to recover and express her opinion.

"I think that's a lovely idea, Harry," she grinned at him. He returned her smile, his eyes conveying his thanks that she, at least, had stood up for him. "After all, it's a little known fact that Professor Snape not only participated in bringing down the Death Eaters, but he was also a hero in exposing the whole Rot-fang conspiracy."

Harry tried his best not to wince, but was not entirely successful. It didn't matter, though, as Luna had turned to her father who was beaming with pride.

"Right you are, Luna dear!" Xeno exclaimed, patting his daughter on the back. "Why, just as soon as I get my printing press back up, I intend to do an entire story on the secret life of Severus Snape."

"I'm sure he would have loved that," Ron muttered under his breath and both Harry and Hermione, who were sitting closest to him, snickered. "Ol' Snapey would love to be the headline of the Quibbler."

_"Professor_ Snape," Hermione corrected. "Just because he's dead doesn't mean that we shouldn't still treat him with respect." She turned to Harry, her eyes bright with enthusiasm. "I think that is a great idea, Harry. I'm sure Professor Snape would have wanted to be buried on Hogwarts grounds. If there is anything I can do to help, I'd be more than happy to assist."

"Would you?" Harry sounded more than a little relieved. "That's good because I don't really know how to go about it. I mean, we'll have to exhume his body won't we? Do we need to get permission to do that?"

Hermione sat in thought for a moment. "I don't know. Obviously in the Muggle world you can't go around digging up graves, so I'm sure you can't in the wizarding world either. Mrs. Weasley, do you know what we will have to do?"

Molly had been busy drying a stack of dishes and turned when Hermione asked her the question. Harry noticed her face looked a little red and puffy and once again regretted bringing the subject of burials up in her presence.

"Well," she began,drying her hands on a dishcloth and making her way to sit at the head of the table, "you'll need to get permission from the Ministry. I know they've put wards all around that cemetery to keep people out who might harm the graves. I'm sure Kingsley wouldn't mind, though. I can have Arthur talk to him if you would like."

"Great!" Both Harry and Hermione spoke at the same time.

Molly returned to her dishes and, now that everyone was done eating, the room began to clear out. Xeno and Luna both left to go work on the repairs to their home and Ginny looked as ifshe was heading outdoors to practice Quidditch. Harry was intent on joining her with the hope of finding something more interesting than Quidditch to practice when Ron stopped him.

"Look, mate," he said quietly, although not so quietly that Hermione didn't hear him and move to join in on the conversation, "I know you want to do something to pay Snape back for saving you and all, but this isn't going to be cheap. Tombs like the one Dumbledore was buried in cost a lot of Galleons. Why don't you do something easier like, putting up a plaque in the Potions classroom or something?"

Hermione rolled her eyes at this suggestion. "Honestly, Ron, a plaque? What's it going to say? 'Here in this room, war hero Severus Snape terrorized his students'? Harry is right. The way he was buried is shameful. It needs to be fixed."

"Yeah, but why do we have to be the ones to fix it?" Ron asked.

"Because if we don't, no one will," Harry answered. "Look, don't worry about the money. I've got enough to cover it and we're going to be starting Auror training soon so I'll have an income in addition to what my parents left me. Besides, the money came from my mum and dad and I don't think my mum would have liked to see him in that tiny grave either. I might not have liked him, but he at least deserves our respect."

"Fine," Ron sighed. "You know I'm not going to make you do this on your own. If there is anything I can do to help, you know I will."

* * *

True to her word, Molly had Arthur speak with the new Minister of Magic about moving Professor Snape's body to Hogwarts and burying him next to Dumbledore. Although the Minister was bogged down with trying to rebuild the wizarding infrastructure that had nearly been destroyed in the previous year, he was enthusiastic about Harry's idea and promised to do what he could to help them out. As a result, the request to exhume Snape's body was pushed through the necessary committees in record time.

Meanwhile, Hermione, with the occasional help from Harry, Ron and Ginny, began working on the arrangements for the new grave. When she had agreed to help Harry out, she should have known that this wasn't going to be much different than the times when she had helped Harrywith his Transfiguration homework. Once again Harry had great intentions but lacked the organization necessary to put those intentions into action.

Auror training started two weeks after their discussion at The Burrow and both Harry and Ron were spending nearly their every waking moment working towards their mutual goal of becoming an Auror. Harry had moved back into number twelve, Grimmauld Place, along with Ron.They usually set out early in the morning and didn't return until well past sunset, exhausted and unwilling to do anything more than go to bed.

Some evenings Hermione and Ginny would join them at the house. The four of them would sit around the kitchen, eating the fantastic meals Kreacher fed them, and pretending that they weren't all thinking of those that could never eat with them again. Those evenings were also the only chances that Hermione had to spend any time with Ron. Since the Battle of Hogwarts, their time together had been limited and each of them jumped at the chance to see the other. It was made all the easier by Harry and Ginny who usually disappeared as soon as the last of the dessert was cleared away.

The rest of Hermione's evenings, however, were spent at her childhood home. She had moved back in with her parents whose memories she had successfully restored. At first, they had been furious with her for altering their memories without any warning, but once she explained the seriousness of the situation, their belated fear overrode their anger. Therefore, in an attempt to appease their sudden overprotective tendencies and her own lack of funds, Hermione agreed to move back in with her parents until she found gainful employment. When that would be she had no idea, however. Considering that the plans for Professor Snape's re-burial was taking up all of her time, she would not have the spare time it would take to search for a job.

Having never planned a funeral for anyone, Muggle or wizard, Hermione didn't realize how much work was involved. She thought it was rather like planning a wedding. There were colors and fabrics to choose for the coffin, tomb styles to worry over, and wording for the inscription to write and rewrite. In the process, Hermione realized just how very little she had ever known about any of her professors, especially Professor Snape.

Therefore, Hermione consulted the only reliable sources she could think of- his fellow teachers at Hogwarts and, most importantly, the portrait of Professor Dumbledore. Her conversation with the former Headmaster had been both enjoyable and enlightening. He was able to give her a lot of information on the man who had lived in the dungeons and taught the students, but unfortunately, even he did not truly know much about Professor Snape's personal life. It seemed that the man had beennothing more than a spy and teacher who had never genuinely cared for anyone beyond Lily Potter. It seemed so sad that he had lived such a lonely life. From what Professor Dumbledore told her, in the rare moments when Professor Snape would let his guard down, he had shown himself to be an intelligent, interesting man with,surprisingly enough, a good sense of humor in a dry, sarcastic sort of way. Hermione thought he seemed like someone she would have liked, had circumstances been different.

As a result, Hermione was left on her own to determine what Professor Snape would have most appreciated. This wasn't an easy decision and the more Hermione learned about her former professor, the more driven she was to honour him in the best way she could. After a considerable amount of deliberation, she finally decided that if Professor Snape had been such a private person that even Professor Dumbledore hadn't truly known him, then the best way to pay tribute to him was to respect his privacy. Therefore, she and Harry together made the decision that the tomb should be simple and understated and there would not be any ceremony to mark the occasion.

The tomb itself was to be fashioned out of grey granite; smaller than the imposing one Dumbledore was buried in; and marked only with Professor Snape's name and dates of birth and death. Ginny had argued in favor of some sort of inscription, but in the end, nothing could be agreed upon that Hermione wouldn't have felt to be too presumptuous. After all, they had not been friends with the man and he had despised them. The only personal touch given to the entire tomb was a carving of a doe standing in a forest, much like the one where Harry had first seen Snape's Patronus.

It took over a month before the preparations were complete and a date and time could be decided upon to transfer the body. Everyone agreed that it should be done as discreetly as possible. In the Ministry, only Kingsley, Arthur and Percy knew all the details. Hermione considered it a personal triumph when, on the morning they were going to move Professor Snape's body to Hogwarts, not a word of it was printed in the _Daily Prophet_.

Kingsley alone was the only representative from the Ministry that was going to be present. He had agreed that he would only go so far as to lower the wards at the cemetery and magically exhume the coffin. From there, Hermione, Ron and Harry would take it through the gates of Hogwartsto the waiting tomb. Harry, as he had done with Dobby, insisted this should be done without magic. When Hermione pointed out that it was unlikely the three of them could manage on their own, he had finally conceded to a lightening charm, but was adamant that they i would /i carry the coffin themselves.

Ron had balked at the idea, but privately Hermione wondered if perhaps this was somehow Harry's way of trying to atone for his misjudgment of Snape. Granted, everyone else had misjudged him as well, but for this different, more mature Harry that had emerged, that didn't seem to be a good enough excuse.

They arrived by Apparition to the cemetery early in the morning. The day was promising to be blisteringly hot and even with the sun just beginning to rise, it felt uncomfortably warm.

"Hello, Harry, Ron, Hermione," Kingsley said, his deep voice as calm and comforting as it had ever been. Although he had always been well dressed, his robes appeared to be even finer than what Hermione had remembered.

"How have you been Kingsley?" Hermione asked, as they trudged through the gate of the small fence that lined the small tombstones. Harry and Ron frequently saw him at the Ministry, but Hermione had not had a chance to speak directly with the former Order member since the war had ended.

"Very busy," Kingsley replied with a wry smile as they walked through the grass, the hems of their robes becoming damp with dew. "I would not have thought it possible that one wizard, even one so powerful as Voldemort, could nearly destroy our entire society in less than one year in power. It is not common knowledge, but Britain being cut off from the rest of the wizarding world caused some serious problems in other countries as well. There has been civil unrest in the magical communities of Russia, Germany and France. Would you believe that a group of Potions Masters stormed Beauxbatons earlier this spring? We export large quantities of certain potions ingredients, and as a result the potions trade has been brought to a near standstill. They were convinced the school was hoarding supplies for themselves. Of course, had they bothered to check with Madame Maxime first, they would have realized that Potions class had been cancelled months ago because of the same shortage."

Hermione was shocked by Kingsley's news. She had been so consumed with her own problems and those of her friends, that she hadn't stopped to consider the ramifications the war would have on those outside of Britain. She knew it had been unrealistic to expect everything to return to normal within a few months, but she had not realized how great an impact the war had truly had. The feeling was overwhelming and disturbing.

They had now reached Professor Snape's grave and Kingsley turned to speak directly to Harry. "I spoke with Minerva. She will be waiting for you at the new tomb."

Harry nodded and, now that it had come down to it, was beginning to look a little sick. He took a few deep breaths, as if to prepare himself.

"You all right there?" Ron asked, patting Harry on the back and looking a little queasy himself. Harry nodded and looked back up at Kingsley.

"Let's get on with this, then."

What spell he used, none of the three could tell as it must have been non-verbal. Privately, Hermione suspected it was some variation on a Summoning Charm, perhaps similar to how the food appeared on the tables at Hogwarts, because no sooner had Kingsley completed a complex set of wand movements, than Snape's coffin appeared in front of them.

"Well, that's a bit easier than I expected," Ron whispered with a relieved sigh.

Cautiously, they moved towards the coffin. Had it been any less somber of an occasion, Hermione might have found the situation amusing. _It's as if we expect him to jump out of the coffin and deduct House points,_ she thought to herself, wryly.

Once they were all standing in front of it, Hermione realized just how hastily the former professor must have been buried. The coffin looked cheap and poorly made. Even after only a few months since his burial, it was already beginning to deteriorate. She tried not to think about the man who was inside of it as Harry pulled out his wand and performed the lightening spell on the coffin. He glanced over at both Hermione and Ron and, without saying a word the three of them reached down, grabbed a hold of the handles, and picked it up.

It seemed to Hermione that Harry's charm work had greatly increased since the last time they were in a classroom. It felt like the coffin barely weighed a thing and the three of them were easily able to carry it. Solemnly, the three of them walked through the narrow gate and, as they began to trudge up the hill towards Hogwarts, Harry nodded his thanks to Kingsley. The Minister of Magic smiled back and turned to Apparate back to London.

Although it was still early, the sun's heat was making them all uncomfortable. Even so, none of them said a word of their discomfort; not even Ron spoke. Instead he stared down at his feet as he walked, casting nervous glances at the coffin every so often. Harry, who was walking on the opposite side, stared straight ahead. His face was set with a fierce expression of determination and it seemed as though he didn't even realize anyone else was with him. Hermione watched him for a moment and wondered about the Penseive memories that had changed Harry's opinion so drastically. Although he had told them everything he saw, he had never allowed them to watch the memories themselves. Instead he had carefully gathered the memories, returned them to the flask and now kept them hidden in his room. Harry's secrecy only added to her curiosity of the man who had given those memories up.

Hermione, who was walking behind Ron, found she couldn't take her eyes off of the coffin. She thought about everything she had learned about this man as she had made the arrangements and she was shocked to realize she felt sorry for him. Granted, Professor Snape had been a horrible teacher, making his personal feelings about her, Ron and Harry blatantly obvious to everyone. But when she took into consideration the life he had been forced to live, required to spend countless hours with the man who had murdered the only woman he had ever loved, she discovered that she couldn't bring up the old feelings of anger and dislike. Instead, all she felt for him now was pity and sadness.

It was as she was contemplating this, that she felt the coffin jerk suddenly. She looked up just in time to see Ron begin to stumble over a loose rock on the road.

"Ron!" she screeched. "Watch out!"

But the warning was too late and Ron was already falling to his knees, grunting as he landed. His hands, which were sweaty from both his nerves and the heat of the sun, slipped and he dropped his part of the coffin.

It all happened so quickly that, despite her warning to Ron, Hermione couldn't stop herself in time and she tripped over his lanky body that was in her path. Instinctively she put her hands out to cushion the blow and, with no one on their side to hold up the coffin, it fell to the ground with a crash.

"Oh Merlin, oh Merlin," Ron was mumbling to himself, his eyes shut tight and an expression of horror on his face. "Don't make me look."

Hermione groaned as she rubbed an elbow that had taken the brunt of her fall. She, too, did not want to look over at the coffin for fear that Professor Snape's body had fallen out.

"You two all right?" Harry asked, standing over them.

"Don't make me look," Ron whimpered again. "Just put him back in and don't tell me."

"Actually," Harry said slowly, "I think you might want to look."

"Are you _mental_?" Ron's voice rose by an octave and his eyes remained tightly shut. Hermione on the other hand, tentatively opened her eyes and glanced over to where the destroyed coffin lay.

She wasn't sure what she was expecting to see; she was not sure how long it took a body to decompose. But whatever she was imagining, it certainly wasn't Severus Snape looking exactly as he had the day he had been put into the ground. Hermione sat up quickly and moved over to where he was lying on the ground.

"Is–is this normal?" she asked,looking up at Harry. "I mean, shouldn't he be…"  
Her voice trailed off as she searched for the least offensive word possible.

"Well, I'm not sure," Harry said tentatively. "But I think by now he should have begun decomposing"

Hermione tried to think back to all she knew about wizarding burial practices. Admittedly, it wasn't much. She did know from Fred's funeral, that there were spells that could be used to preserve the bodies. But she also knew that, given all the injured and dead there were to attend to after Voldemort's defeat, such consideration had only been given to those who had family members capable of performing such spells. Molly had performed the spell on Fred, Remus and Tonks's bodies. Hermione was almost positive no one had done so for Professor Snape.

"What are you guys talking about?" Ron's voice sounded panicked as he called out to them.

"Ron, I really think you need to look at this." Hermione responded calmly to him. With that he, too, cautiously opened his eyes. But instead of looking relieved, as she had expected, he became even more anxious, scooting away from the coffin and the man who had fallen out of it.

"Oh bloody hell," he whispered frantically. "He's a _vampire_!All those rumors were true! We need to get McGonagall."

Hermione and Harry both stared at him with expressions of amusement. Hermione reached out a comforting hand but Ron flinched even from that small gesture.

"Ron, I really don't think he's a vampire." Hermione tried to speak as reassuringly as she could. "I mean, he left Harry all those memories. And besides, if he had been a vampire, don't you think we would have seen him around before now?"

Ron did not look the least bit comforted. "Then how do you explain it Hermione? He should be… well I don't know what he should be, but he shouldn't look like that, should he?"

Hermione frowned and looked over at Professor Snape again. "No, I don't think he should. After all, he was buried in a hurry, wasn't he? Could there have been some sort of charm put on him?"

Harry shook his head slowly. "I don't think so. Remember, we were in such a hurry to get everyone buried it was all we could do to get them all in the ground."

Those words confirmed Hermione's suspicions. It was highly unlikely that someone had put a charm on him. And besides, who would have wanted to? He may have not been a traitor, but he certainly wasn't well liked.

"Well, Ron's right about one thing," she said. "We do need to get Professor McGonagall."

"I'll go." Ron jumped to his feet, continuing to keep as much distance between himself and Snape as he could.

"All right," Harry agreed. "Hermione and I will stay here with… him."

Ron didn't need to be told twice. He nearly broke into a run as he hurried up the road to the castle. While he was gone, both Harry and Hermione sat in confused silence, occasionally glancing over at the body but never saying a word. After a relatively short amount of time, Ron returned with Professor McGonagall walking briskly next to him. Hermione jumped up and hurried forward to meet them.

"What is all this about, Miss Granger?" Professor McGonagall asked. "All I can get out of Mr. Weasley is some nonsense about Professor Snape and vampires."

"You look for yourself!" Ron said defensively, pointing towards the body. Professor McGonagall gave him a harsh look for his tone but he didn't even flinch. "I'm telling you, he_ must_ be a vampire."

Professor McGonagall stopped short as her eyes fell on the body sprawled out on the road. "Merlin's beard," she whispered under her breath and then hurried forward. Harry backed away to give her room. She immediately pulled out her wand and began muttering spells under her breath.

Harry moved around so he was standing next to Hermione and Ron. Together the three of them stood in silence as they watched their former professor work. After several minutes of nearly constant spell work she looked up at them sharply.

"Go get Madam Pomfrey. Quick!"

"I'll go," Harry said under his breath and Hermione nodded as she continued to watch Professor McGonagall work. Whatever it was the woman had discovered, it seemed that Professor Snape was definitely _not_ a vampire. It seemed to take an eternity, although in reality it couldn't have been more than ten minutes, when Harry arrived back with Madam Pomfrey.

"Minerva, what is going on?" she asked as she arrived. Then she, too, saw Snape. "Great Gryffindor!" Her voice was nearly a shout.

"I've run all sorts of spells, Poppy," Professor McGonagall said, looking up nurse. "It seems he's been put under some sort of stasis spell."

"Well who would do that?" Madam Pomfrey asked, kneeling down next to the body and pulling out her wand.

"Poppy," Professor McGonagall began slowly, "I think it was Severus."

"What do you mean?" Madam Pomfrey spoke sharply as she waved her wand. Professor McGonagall did not respond and after just a few moments, Madam Pomfrey let out a small gasp of shock. Her wand hand dropped suddenly as if the piece of wood was too heavy to keep holding up.

"Do you see it as well?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"See what?" Harry spoke up for the first time since returning from the castle. "What's going on?"

Madam Pomfrey glanced at Professor McGonagall, almost as if asking permission for something. The professor gave a small nod. Madam Pomfrey stood, brushed the dirt off her robes and turned to speak to Harry, Ron and Hermione.

"It seems that this stasis spell was cast prior to Professor Snape's demise."

"What does that mean?" Ron asked.

"What it means, Mr. Weasley, is that from what Professor McGonagall and I can tell, Professor Snape is not actually dead."

This pronouncement was followed with complete and utter silence. And then downright chaos erupted.

"What do you mean not dead?" Hermione asked, rushing towards Professor McGonagall and pulling out her own wand.

"I was there!" Harry nearly shouted. "I would think I could tell if I saw the man die or not."

"So he's not a vampire?" Ron asked in a relieved voice and looked as if he could collapse into a heap. No one bothered to dignify his question with a response.

"How could this have happened?" Hermione asked, settling down next to Professor McGonagall. "Doesn't anyone check for these kinds of spells before they bury people?"

Madam Pomfrey looked uncomfortable. "Perhaps if his had been the only death. But there were so many bodies and so many people who were alive that needed tending to. I didn't… I didn't think…" Her voice trailed off and Hermione was shocked to see tears in the older woman's eyes.

"Don't blame yourself, Poppy," Professor McGonagall said comfortingly. "Severus must have known he was taking a risk when he cast the spell. We didn't have time to check everyone and there was so much blood when we collected him. There was no reason to suspect he wasn't dead."

"I don't understand." Harry sounded frustrated as he, too, joined them. "I was there. I watched him die! I never saw him cast any sort of spell."

"This spell is non-verbal," Professor McGonagall replied. "You never would have heard him say the words."

"But he never even waved his wand. Nothing!"

"Potter," Professor McGonagall began in a lecturing tone that Harry had heard many times in Transfiguration class. "You know that each spell requires a different wand movement, correct?"

Harry nodded his head.

"Has it ever occurred to you that there are spells that require _no_ wand movement? Perhaps spells which are designed to disguise the fact that they are being cast? Did Professor Snape have his wand out at any point just prior to his death?"

Harry thought back to the events in the Shrieking Shack. Although it had been over three months ago, he could still remember the events as clearly as if they had happened the day before. He recalled the moment when Snape had pulled out his wand, seemingly to defend himself. And then he had paused. As if he had expected a reprieve from Voldemort. But that didn't make any sense. Voldemort was not exactly known for his leniency and Snape of all people would have surely known it. As realization dawned on his face, Professor McGonagall smiled triumphantly.

"There was a moment when I thought he was going to defend himself," Harry said quietly. "But he didn't. He just stood there with his wand out."

"That must have been when he cast the stasis spell," Madam Pomfrey nodded.

"But then why did it look like he had died?" Hermione asked. "I was standing there too and his eyes went blank and he stopped breathing. Surely if he had cast the spell earlier…"

"He must have invented some sort of variation to it," replied Madam Pomfrey. "From what I understand, Severus was adept at creating variations to spells and even invented some himself."

Hermione, Ron and Harry all glanced nervously at each other. They knew exactly how good Snape was at creating new spells. Madam Pomfrey did not notice them and continued on uninterrupted.

"It appears that the spell was activated only moments before death. Very clever of him. Very clever indeed." The admiration in her voice was clear.

"Can you treat him, Poppy?" Professor McGonagall asked and it was at that point when Madam Pomfrey frowned.

"If we had no other options, perhaps. But I think he would be better served to go to St. Mungo's. They keep the anti-venom on hand that Severus needs to treat his bite ever since Arthur's attack. They also have much stronger Blood-Replenishing Potions than what I have access to."

Professor McGonagall nodded briskly. "I will contact Kingsley and inform him about what has happened. Severus will need Auror protection while he is being treated."

"When we get up to the castle, I will floo Healer Smethwyck," Madam Pomfrey said as she conjured a stretcher and levitated Snape onto it. "He will want to have the necessary potions on hand before we bring Severus over."

The walk up to the castle was as silent as it had begun when Harry, Ron and Hermione had been carrying the coffin. Now, rather than a coffin, it was Severus Snape on a conjuredstretcher. Hermione's eyes were drawn to the empty tomb that they passed on their way to the castle and she shuddered. What would have happened had Ron not tripped? How long would the spell have kept Snape alive?

It was a lucky thing that there was still a week before the start of term. Hermione could only imagine the panic that would have ensued at the sight of Professor Snape, still alive, being carried through the castle.

As soon as they reached the hospital wing, the two older women moved fast, each of them moving towards fireplaces to contact the necessary people. Harry, Ron and Hermione stood back, afraid of getting in the way and watched them.

"Yes, that's what I said, Kingsley," Professor McGonagall said, her head stuck in the fireplace. "He's alive. No… no, I haven't been in the Firewhisky. Floo over here yourself if you don't believe me."

"We'll be transferring him as soon as we can get permission from the Minister." Madam Pomfrey was speaking in another fireplace. "Yes, all the Blood-Replenishingpotions you can get your hands on. The poor man is going to need it."

A few minutes later there was another flurry of activity as Kingsley, Percy and two Aurors came through the floo. Seconds later, two Healers arrived from St. Mungo's. They all crowded around the bed in which Snape had been laid.

"He's in a fragile condition," the Healer that Madam Pomfrey had greeted as Smethwyck said, running his wand along Snape's body. "I'm not sure he will handle the transfer. It might be better to just treat him here."

"That would be better for security as well," Kingsley agreed. "We're going to have a difficult time keeping this quiet. Poppy, will you be able to keep him here?"

"Of course!" Madam Pomfrey sounded insulted that she was even questioned. "As long as we have the needed potions, I will do whatever I can for Severus."

"We have brought everything necessary with us," Healer Smethwyck said and, as he spoke, the other Healer gently lifted Snape's head while he other poured the Blood-Replenishingpotion into his mouth. Seconds later that potion was followed by the anti-venom.

Once they had settled him back on the pillow, Healer Smethwyck said, "We are ready to lift the stasis spell."

Reluctantly, Hermione and Harry both moved closer to watch. Ron took a couple steps back and seemed to be cringing. Both Percy and Kingsley were standing next to Professor McGonagall at the foot of the bed while the Healers and Madam Pomfrey were up by the head.

"Go ahead," Kingsley said with a nod of his head.

"_Finite __Incantatem_!" Healer Smethwyck's voice was barely above a whisper and it seemed that everyone in the room was holding their collective breaths.

For several long moments the man in the bed didn't move and Hermione had the thought that they had been wrong after all. Perhaps he really was dead. And then, just when she was sure nothing would happen, Snape's chest began to rise and fall. Professor McGonagall exhaled loudly and Hermione heard a squeak behind her that she knew had come from Ron.

The Healers once again began working, casting numerous spells that Hermione had never even read about. Eventually, though, they stopped and took a step back. She leaned forward so she could better see and realized that Snape was beginning to open his eyes. He was obviously too weak to lift his head, but his eyes darted around the room taking everyone in. When his eyes at last fell on Harry and Hermione, they stopped and Harry shifted nervously where he stood. Snape then turned to look at Professor McGonagall who was smiling encouragingly at him.

"Merlin," he gasped, his voice so hoarse that his words were difficult to make out. "I'm in hell."

And with those words, Snape promptly passed out.


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who left a review! I enjoyed them all! Also many thanks to my lovely beta RenitaLeandra._

* * *

Chapter 2

It seemed that the world was pain. Pain unlike anything he had ever felt before. It felt as if his muscles hadn't been used in months. Severus groaned, but it seemed that his voice wasn't working properly and it came out as a whimper.

_How long has it been_? He thought to himself. His last real memory, before first waking up in this nightmare, was of Potter's eyes. Lily's eyes. He hadn't been sure when he cast the spell that it would work correctly. Now, it seemed that it had.

"Severus?" A calm, soothing voice called out to him. He recognized it as Poppy Pomfrey's. "Severus, can you hear me?"

_Of course I can hear you_, Severus thought to himself. _I may have nearly died but I certainly didn't lose my hearing._ He wanted desperately to say as much, but for some reason his mouth didn't seem to be working correctly.

"Professor Snape?" A different voice now. Male. "My name is Healer Smethwyck. If you can hear us, we want you to open your eyes and look at us."

_Open my eyes. Obviously, I'm going to open my eyes. _But even as he thought it, his body didn't seem to obey his command. He felt the fury that came with the frustration that he, Severus Snape, the man who had fooled Lord Voldemort, couldn't even perform this one simple act.

Finally, after several long moments, his eyes cracked open for the second time since the spell had been lifted and he winced at the bright light flooding in from the windows. Again his eyes darted around to see who was there; he had no idea how long it had been from the first time he had woken, until now. It seemed that Potter and Granger were gone as was Percy Weasley. Otherwise, though, everyone else had remained. Poppy and what he surmised to betwo Healers from St. Mungo's were standing closest to him. Kingsley and Minerva were standing a ways distant, whispering quietly to each other. He wondered how long it would be before he was brought to Azkaban.

"Very good, Severus!" Poppy smiled broadly at him and he frowned. She had been nothing short of rude to him for the last year. Now, she was smiling at him as if he was her long lost child.

"Wh… wh…" Severus tried to speak but his vocal cords were as stubborn as his eyes had been. Suddenly filled with panic he struggled to sit up but the Healers were immediately there to force him back down again.

"You mustn't try to get up," Healer Smethwyck said forcefully. He cast an _Aguamenti_, filling a nearby glass with water. "Here is some water. You haven't used your voice in a long time. This should help."

Severus took a sip and, as he swallowed it, he began to choke. Mentally he cursed himself. What was _wrong_ with him? His second attempt at drinking went a bit better and, after a few minutes, he was able to swallow with relative ease. Leaning back he glanced towards Minerva who was watching him intently.

"W-what… h-happened?" he managed to choke out. His voice still wasn't working right. It felt like a muscle he hadn't used in a long time. Minerva and Kingsley both moved closer to him.

"You have been under a stasis spell," Healer Smethwyksaid. "That, in combination with your severe blood loss from the snake bite, has made you extremely weak. You are exceptionally lucky to be alive."

"H-how long?" His voice was still so raspy that it was barely recognizable as his own. The Healer exchanged nervous glances with Minerva and she moved closer.

"Severus," Minerva began gentlypausing for a moment before she continued. Again, Severus was struck by her tone. The last time he had seen her she had tried to kill him. Even in all their years as co-workers, they had never been friendly enough to justify the kindness she was now showing. "It has been four months since the end of the war."

"F-four… four months?" Severus could scarcely believe it. Had it really taken that long for them to remove the spell? Although he had never actually been able to try the spell out prior to its use, he had been fairly certain that it could be easily removed. "W-why?"

Minerva looked at him, genuinely confused. "Why what?"

"Why… s-so long?"

Again there was an exchange of looks, but this time Poppy was the one to speak. "Severus, I think you have had quite enough excitement for today. Once you have rested we can speak again."

The force with which Severus reached out and grabbed a hold of the nurse's wrist surprised even him. She looked down at him with shock and a little fear evident in her face.

"Severus…" she began, but he cut her off.

"Tell… me," he repeated, his tone as forceful as he could make it. "Why?"

"Severus, you must understand, after the battle there were so many dead bodies. So many injuries. It was chaos." Poppy's voice was thick with tears and he looked at her as sharply as he could. "Harry told us you had died. He said he had been there. We didn't… we didn't think twice about it. There was so much blood, you see."

Poppy dissolved into tears and turned to walk away in order to compose herself. Severus stared up at the ceiling. There was no need for her to continue. It was all painfully clear to him now. He had been under the spell for so long because no one had checked to make sure he had been alive. He realized now that he must have been buried alive. He could feel himself begin to shake, imagining the small coffin he must have been buried in. Wondering what series of events must have come about for him to have been discovered.

"Professor Snape," Healer Smethwycksaid leaning forward, "you have been through a very difficult experience. There will be plenty of time to discuss these things at a later time. For now, you really need to rest. I am going to give you a Sleeping Draught."

The other healer, who had not yet been introduced, attempted to help lift Severus's head but he pulled away from them with a jerk. He would be damned if he was going to be treated like some helpless infant. Using all the strength he could muster, he propped himself up on one arm and took the potion from the healer. He drank it in one swallow before collapsing back against the pillow. Within moments he was once again asleep.

* * *

The next week was spent alternating between increasingly lengthening periods of consciousness and increasingly shorter periods of sleep. No matter what time Severus awoke from his latest potion, however, there was always someone there. Usually it was Poppy, sometimes Minerva or Filius. And always there was at least one Auror standing guard by the door. Apparently they were afraid of him escaping custody as easily as he had escaped death.

The new term had started and Severus now had a curtain drawn around his bed at all times. Occasionally he would hear a student coming in and Madam Pomfrey always hurrying to help them, but generally it was quiet and peaceful.

On one particularly unpleasant occasion it had been Potter and his two side-kicks that were there when he woke. He had been dreaming pleasantly, which was a novelty he had been experiencing more frequently of late, when it was rudely interrupted by the Weasley boy's incessant whining.

"I don't understand why we have to do this," Weasley said. "Can't somebody else watch over him? What if he wakes up?"

"Professor McGonagall is busy with the start of term." The voice was clearly Granger's and just as bossy as he had remembered it. "You know how much she has going on."

"Yeah, but we only get one day off a week," Weasley continued. "And I was hoping to catch the Chudley Cannons' game on the WWN."

There was an impatient sigh followed by, "Really Ron, there are more important things than sports."

"Will you two quit bickering?" Now it was Potter's voice. "You're going to wake him with all that noise."

"But it's what we do, Harry," Weasley replied good-naturedly. "It's how we express our affection."

The amused laugh that Severus heard coming from Granger's mouth made him want to grimace. Apparently the two were in some sort of romantic relationship. Why anyone would want to put up with a bossy know-it-all like her or a thick-headed idiot like Weasley was quite beyond him.

"Look," Potter said, his voice now impatient, "considering we're the ones that found him, it's the least we can do to help McGonagall out for an afternoon."

This sent Severus's mind reeling. _Potter_ was the one that found him? It seemed things were getting worse and worse and he still hadn't left the bed. He began listening in earnest now, hoping to hear more of what had happened.

"I still can't believe it," Granger said. "I mean, what if Harry hadn't had that idea? What if Ron hadn't tripped? What do you think would have happened if we wouldn't have found him?"

_What idea_? Severus thought to himself. _What in Merlin's name are they talking about_?

"I don't know," Potter was saying. "I try not to think about it."

"And here I thought you were opposed to thinking at all." Severus had opened his eyes and couldn't help but smirk when the three jumped from the sound of his voice. Rather than appearing frightened, however, they just watched him as if he were some particularly interesting specimen.

"How are you feeling, sir?" Granger asked. She was actually moving towards him. Idiot Gryffindor! Was she trying to be friendly?

"How do you think you would feel if you had just spent the last four months being mistaken for a corpse?" Severus snapped but, rather than upsetting or embarrassing her, she just looked at him sympathetically. It was infuriating.

"You're right. I probably wouldn't be feeling so good. Would you like us to fetch Madam Pomfrey for you?"

"Unless you are volunteering for the position, Miss Granger?" This did manage to produce a flush that Severus found eminently satisfying.

"I'll go get her," said Potter, already turning away from them and walking around the curtain.

"I'll stay here with Hermione," Weasley called after him and moved closer to Granger.

"How very chivalrous of you, Mr. Weasley," Severus said dryly. "I am obviously of great danger to your little girlfriend seeing as I'm confined to a bed and without a wand."

Weasley frowned at him, but Granger developed a sudden coughing fit. As Severus glanced over to her, he was surprised to see the amusement in her eyes. Merlin! Was nothing he said effective anymore? What had happened to the world in the four months he had been unconscious?

"Really, Professor," Granger said as soon as she had regained her composure enough to speak. "Is there anything I can get you? A drink of water? Something to eat?"

As much as he hated to admit it, his throat was dry and scratchy. "If I had my wand I could get it myself," he grumbled. "However, a glass of water would be… appreciated."

The girl positively beamed with delight at his request and he did his best to snarl at her as she handed it to him. The next few minutes passed uncomfortably has both Weasley and Granger continued to watch him. He did his most to busy himself with his drink, but water could only occupy a person for so long. Therefore, he was inordinately grateful when he heard the door open and two sets of footsteps hurry towards his bed.

"Severus! You're awake!" Poppy exclaimed, rounding the curtain.

"So it would seem," Severus replied dryly and sighed as she once again pulled out her wand and began to perform her endless diagnostic spells. It seemed that the best treatment for being buried alive was to be subjected to constant tests.

"You three can go," she said glancing over her shoulder to where Potter, Weasley and Granger stood. "It was so kind of you to help out in a pinch."

Weasley left without comment, however, both Granger and Potter bade him good-bye. He wasn't sure which one surprised him more.

* * *

Severus thought that encounter would surely be the last he would see of the trio, but it was only two nights later that he woke in the night to find Granger half asleep in the chair next to his bed.

He had been dreaming again, but this time it hadn't been so pleasant. It seemed that years as a spy could not be erased by a few months of death. Just as Nagini was lunging for him, he woke up with a gasp.

"Professor?" she whispered in a sleepy voice. "Is something wrong?"

"What are you doing here, Miss Granger?" he snapped.

"Madam Pomfrey got called away. She asked if I would stay here."

"Do you really believe I am such a threat that I need to be guarded by a girl who never even managed to finish her magical education?"

"Well, I might have been able to finish it had Hogwarts not been overrun by Death Eaters," Granger replied calmly, sitting up straighter in her chair. "Is that what you think I'm doing here? Guarding you?"

"Isn't it?" Severus eyed her suspiciously. Why else would he be subjected to around the clock pestering? Granger snorted with laughter.

"Why on earth would I need to be guarding you? For all of Ron's protective display the other day, I am well aware you're not going to be hurting anyone."

"Then why are you here?"

"Because, believe it or not, the healers at St. Mungo's are genuinely worried about you. You used a spell that isn't Ministry approved and were under the influence of it for far longer than you had intended. There was some concern that there would be some lingering effects."

Severus couldn't help but stare at her, stunned. They were doing this out of _concern_?

"Then what about the Aurors standing guard outside?" he asked. "Aren't they just waiting for the opportunity to take me to Azkaban?"

Granger actually laughed out loud at this. Laughed. At him. "Merlin, Professor. Hasn't anyone told you anything? The Aurors are here for _your_ protection. Not ours. And you're the last person that's going to be carted off to Azkaban. Really, if even the Malfoys managed to keep out, what makes you think--"

"Lucius escaped prison?" Severus interrupted. "How did he manage that?"

"Well, if you must know, he didn't do much at all. But considering the fact that his wife saved Harry's life they were given some leniency."

Severus's head was spinning. It was only now that he was beginning to realize how much he had missed. He couldn't imagine why Narcissa would try to save Potter's life. For that matter, he couldn't understand why Potter was still alive. Wasn't he supposed to have died? He asked Granger as much and she just smiled. Her eyes looked a little watery and Severus immediately regretting asking if it meant she was going to get emotional on him. But when she replied her voice was clear and her eyes dry.

For the next hour, Hermione Granger and Severus Snape both did something they had never done before. They had a conversation. She sat and explained everything he had missed in the previous four months; from the death of Voldemort to the moment thatRon had tripped and dropped his coffin, effectively saving his life.

Severus spoke very little, interrupting only when he was told something so outrageous that he couldn't help but question it. Such as when she said Potter had wanted to bury him next to Dumbledore. He was not sure what to think when she explained how much her friend's opinion had changed since the end of the war. In truth, he had very little recollection of giving Potter all those memories of his relationship with Lily. The realization that the entire wizarding world was aware of his feelings towards her made his face burn with embarrassment. Granger, to her credit, tactfully avoided the subject beyond explaining what was said during the final duel between Potter and Voldemort.

Eventually the conversation began to wane and Severus noticed Granger's eyes begin to droop. Outside, the sky was beginning to lighten and he wondered just how much sleep she had got that night. It couldn't have been comfortable in that chair.

"Miss Granger," he said and Hermione, who had just dozed off, jumped awake. "I am sure I'll be fine until Madam Pomfrey returns from wherever she has gone off to. There is an Auror standing by who, I'm sure, will alert anyone should I decide to go off and die again."

He could tell the girl wasn't sure if this was his idea of a joke, but she gave a strangled laugh. "I don't think anyone is worried about you actually dying. Especially since you never did in the first place. But I wouldn't want to risk Madam Pomfrey's wrath if I were to abandon my post."

Severus couldn't help but agree to that. "Very well," he replied with a careless wave of his hand. "Stay, if you insist. But no more of your incessant talking."

It was a sign of her exhaustion that she didn't even take exception to his remark and, instead, curled up in the chair and dozed back to sleep. He, too, laid back onto his pillow and he marveled for a moment at the oddity of three of his most hated students actually doing what they could to help him; even going so far as to concern themselves with his burial. It seemed like an incredibly intimate act. Something a family member or close friend might do. But then, he had no family or friends. As much as he loathed the idea of Potter being anything other than the spoiled attention seeking child he had always took him for, he had to wonder if perhaps the boy was a bit more like his mother than what he had thought. It was this thought that he fell asleep to and, an hour later when Poppy Pomfrey returned to the hospital ward, she gave the two sleeping forms a curious look but did nothing to disturb them.

* * *

Severus remained under the custody of Poppy for another two weeks, doing little but exercising his weakened muscles, eating as many fattening foods as she could get down his throat and sleeping away twenty years worth of exhaustion. Finally, neither he nor she could take his constant presence there any longer and he was given permission to go home.

Going home was a curious thought to Severus. For virtually his entire life he had considered Hogwarts to be his home. But now, with Horace Slughorn still teaching Potions and Minerva in her rightful place as Headmistress, there was no place for him here. It felt a bit odd to him, as if he were a wayward teenager who had just been kicked out by his parents. He had never contemplated what he would do if he was not teaching; he had never expected to live long enough to see the end of his service to his two masters.

When the day of his release finally arrived, he woke early, dressed quickly and walked out of the hospital ward with little fanfare. Poppy had been a little tearful and she gave a stammering apology for her behavior towards him since Dumbledore's death. Severus had responded with only half-hearted scorn and the fond smile she gave him a moment laterjust made him roll his eyes. He was just walking out the doors when he ran into Minerva.

"Oh, Severus!" she said in mock surprise and he rolled his eyes yet again. "Are you leaving?"

"You know very well I am leaving, Minerva, and I don't doubt that Poppy just Floo'd you that I was preparing to depart."

"Well, you really didn't think you would get away without me saying good-bye,did you?" Minerva tried to look hurt, but the teasing gleam in her eyes gave her away.

"Minerva," Severus sighed, "we can hardly claim to be good friends. I would not even classify us as friendly acquaintances… considering your attempted murder of me."

The elderly witch had the grace to blush at his remark and she now seemed to be fumbling a bit with her words. "Well… yes… I did want to speak to you about that."

Severus raised an eyebrow and waited for her to continue, while enjoying her obvious discomfort.

"I know that apologizing isn't really enough. But I am sorry that I… misjudged you."

Severus considered her words for a moment. "You believed me to be a Death Eater who had murdered Albus Dumbledore and then usurped your position as Head of this school because of my connections with the Dark Lord."

"Well… yes," Minerva said awkwardly.

"Then you were correct," Severus replied. As Minerva opened her mouth to protest he interrupted her. "You did not misjudge my actions, Minerva. Only my motives. I do not require an apology."

"Well, if you will not accept an apology, perhaps you would at least accept my thanks?" Minerva asked. "I know now that things here at Hogwarts would have been far worse if it had been someone other than you as Headmaster."

Severus marveled at the strange turn of events and struggled with himself. His instinct was to, at the very least, turn and walk away as quickly as possible. But he couldn't quite bring himself to do so. Instead, he said quietly, "Thank you for your appreciation." And then he turned and walked away as quickly as possible.

It was early enough in the day that he could move through the halls without worrying that he might be spotted by the students. The story of his survival had finally shown up in the _Daily Prophet_ the week before and he had no desire to be stared and pointed at. Especially since he no longer had the ability to deduct House points.

In fact, he saw no one until he had left the front doors and was walking down the steps at the front of the castle. It was then that he noticed someone walking towards him. Someone small in stature with unusually bushy hair. Hermione Granger. Severus sighed to himself. He was seeing entirely too much of the young lady these days.

"Hello, Professor," she said with a smile as she reached him. Her cheeks were red from the cool breeze and her hair looked windswept. Severus thought it made her look even younger than she was.

"I cannot believe it is purely coincidence that I am meeting you now, Miss Granger," Severus grumbled. Her smile brightened and she turned to walk with him.

"No. Professor McGonagall told me you were being released this morning. I thought you might like some company."

"What in the name of Merlin gave you that idea?"

Granger shrugged her shoulders and he noticed as they walked that they were going past Dumbledore's tomb. Next to it was the tomb that was supposed to have been his. He stared at it, feeling perversely fascinated by it. Granger noticed the direction of his eyes and slowed her step.

"Would you like to see it?" she asked gently and Severus looked at her with alarm. He had never considered actually going up to it. "It's going to be removed soon so I suppose this is your last chance."

Severus snorted. "What an appealing idea."

For all his sarcasm, though, his feet turned in that direction. They walked in silence towards the two tombs until they were finally standing directly in front of what would have been his final resting place. He had to admit, that it was tastefully done. No flowery phrases that expressed inappropriate sentiments. The tomb itself was relatively nondescript and plain. Much like something he would have chosen himself. It took several minutes before he even noticed the carving of the doe.

For a moment, he felt his throat constrict with the pain of suppressed memories and he closed his eyes until he could regain control over his emotions. Granger must have noticed his reaction because he felt a hand on his arm. He jerked away from the contact and glared at her. As his eyes fell on her though, he noticed she was holding out a flask filled with a filmy, silvery substance. He recognized it immediately.

"Harry thought you should have them back. He wanted you to know that no one else has seen them. I can assure you that I never have."

Severus grabbed the flask from her outstretched hand and held it protectively in his own. He had not allowed himself to contemplate what had happened to those memories he had shared with Potter and he was inordinately relieved to have them back in his possession.

"Thank you," he murmured. With one last glance at the carved doe, he turned away from the tomb, Granger continuing to walk with him. When he reached the gates to Hogwarts, he paused and turned to look at her.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

She took a deep breath as if bracing herself for something before she spoke. "Severus Snape," she announced, "I would like to be your friend."

She sounded as if she was announcing her candidacy for Minister of Magic and Severus snorted with amusement. "I don't need a friend," he responded curtly.

"I beg your pardon, but I think you do." Granger did not seem the least bit put off by his attitude. "Everyone needs friends and, by my count, you haven't had one in a long time unless you count Dumbledore and I don't think you do."

Severus stared hard at her. "What makes you think you know so much about my personal life, Miss Granger?"

"I told you that Harry put me in charge of your… arrangements. Well obviously I wanted to do as good a job as I could--"

"Obviously," Severus interrupted.

"…and that meant finding out as much about you as possible. I talked to most of the professors and Dumbledore's portrait and it seems that you were never really friends with any of them. For obvious reasons I couldn't interview some of your other… um… associates. But I'm willing to assume that they weren't exactly friends either. This leads me to believe that you have had precisely one friend in your life."

It seemed the girl had done her homework. Severus never stopped to consider his lack of personal relationships, considering his work as a spy. And now that he thought back on it he realized that Granger was right. Lily Evans had been his only true friend. That did not mean, however, that he was interested in starting a friendship with _her._

"Miss Granger," he said as patiently as he could manage, "I am not a half-giant nor a werewolf. Please spare me your pity and your friendship."

Rather than appearing put-off, Granger gave him a speculative look. "I'm fully aware of what you are and are not, Professor. And I might remind you that both Hagrid and Remus have had more friends than you. As for my pity, yes, I'll admit, I do feel sorry for you."

Severus felt his face burn with embarrassment and he turned away from her. He wanted to lash out at her, to remind her that he was not someone who would tolerate other people's sympathy. But she did not give him the chance to speak.

"How could I not, Professor? After all that I have learned of you, I would be heartless to not have sympathy for everything you have gone through and, after all, that is what friends do isn't it?"

"As you have so tactfully pointed out, I would hardly be the best judge of that." Severus was torn between his natural indignation at this humiliating topic of conversation and a certain amount of admiration that she was speaking so openly to him.

"Perhaps you're right," Granger said with a sigh. "But that doesn't change the fact that I would like to get to know you better."

"And what if I told you that I am not planning to stay in Britain?" Severus asked. In truth he had not yet made up his mind, but leaving the country was an idea that held a certain amount of appeal. He was surprised to see that Granger actually looked dismayed at the thought.

"Surely you're not going to leave right away."

"I suppose not," Severus conceded. He still needed to put his affairs in order and figure out how exactly he was going to make money. He certainly didn't have a secret vault somewhere just filled with Galleons.

"And in the meantime? Would it be so terrible to have some company every once in a while?"

Severus considered this. Would it be so terrible? If he was being entirely truthful with himself, he would admit that even he got lonely sometimes. Even years after Lily's death, there were moments when he would think fondly back to those days when he had someone to confide in. Someone who actually understood him, rather than making judgments based on his family or House or clothes. He could not imagine that person being Hermione Granger, but as she had not-so-tactfully pointed out, there weren't exactly people lining up for the job either.

"Very well," he said with a sigh. "It is clear that you aren't going to leave me alone. So if you must bother me, then at least it will be on my terms."

Granger smiled at him as if he had just given her some precious gift and, for a moment, Severus felt pleased with himself. It was rare that he actually made someone _happy_.

"Well, don't get used to it," he grumbled, crushing down any positive emotions as quickly as he could. "As soon as I can, I plan to leave this Merlin-forsaken country. I have no desire to have my every move reported about in the _Daily Prophet_."

"Oh, very well," Granger smiled and then sighed. "But perhaps I could help you. I have some excellent contacts in the Ministry these days."

"As long as you're making yourself useful," Severus replied.

"All right then." They had reached the edge of Hogwarts property and Granger had turned to look at him. "I'll give you your peace and quiet now. But I'll stop by in a couple days to see if there is anything I can do."

"Exactly what makes you think you know where I live?" Severus demanded. Surely his home was not common knowledge. Even Dumbledore didn't know exactly where it was. He was not going to get his answer, though. Instead the girl turned and walked a short distance away, obviously preparing to Apparate.

"Good-bye, Professor," she called with a smile and, before he could even think about responding, she was gone with a small pop.

Severus frowned to himself. He wasn't sure what he had just got himself in to, but he had the sneaking suspicion that it was more than what he had bargained for.


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: Many, many thanks to both my beta RenitaLeandra and to everyone who has reviewed._

* * *

Chapter 3

The heat was sweltering and the sun beat down on Hermione as she walked through Diagon Alley on her way to the Leaky Cauldron. It had been another extraordinarily hot summer, much like the one the year before and Hermione couldn't wait until autumn. The small alley was unusually crowded due to it being the week before the start-of-termat Hogwarts. The crowd slowed her progress and tried her patience.

Hermione walked into the cool, dark pub and was grateful for the change in temperature. Unfortunately, she couldn't stop for a drink. Glancing again at her watch, she grimaced. She was running late.

She hadn't expected the emergency call to the Magical Menagerie so late in the day, but as the newest employee at the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, it always fell to Hermione to perform these unwanted tasks. She wasn't quite sure why the Ministry needed to be notified over a loose Niffler, but she supposed that the giant hole it had created in the sidewalk had something to do with it.

Unwilling to go back out in the oppressive heat again, she decided to Floo back to her flat instead. Withinminutes, she was stepping out of her fireplace into her own living room and she carefully wiped her sooty feet on the welcome mat.

"Ron?" she called out. "Are you home?"

There was no answer and Hermione felt a little ashamed over the pang of relief she felt. He was going to be annoyed when she told him she was going to see Severus again.

_Really, what does he expect_? She thought to herself as she pulled a set of light weight robes off a hanger in her closet. _It's the one year anniversary since we found him. I'm not going to ignore him on today of all days_.

Her friendship with Severus was an increasing source of conflict between her and Ron and she was glad that she wasn't going to have to argue with him over it tonight. Instead she hurried into the bathroom and turned on the shower, thinking back over the past year.

Had someone told her a year ago that she would end up including Severus Snape as one of her closest friends, she would have taken them to St. Mungo's for a check-up. Even when she had met him outside of Hogwarts on the day he was released, she never would have guessed what was in store for her over the course of the next year.

Their friendship had begun tentatively when Hermione had shown up at Severus's small house the day after he had gone home. She had brought him a bottle of Ogden's and the name of the Ministry's Potions Department head, who was more than enthusiastic about Severus possibly brewing potions for them. For his part, Severus had provided some dry humor and managed to leave most of his bitterness and sarcasm behind. It had been awkward and a little forced in the beginning, but Hermione had expected it given their past history and previous association as teacher and student. Eventually, though, they had fallen into a relatively comfortable relationship.

It had taken a month before she had worked up the nerve to call him by his first nameand she had considered it a victory when he didn't toss her out of his house. It was another month before he started calling her Hermione. It was then that she knew she had finally succeeded in breaking through the former professor's tough outer shell.

The rest of the year had passed with Hermione visiting Severus at least once or twice a week. With the Ministry contact she had given him, he had begun brewing potions for the Ministry and the arrangement was providing him with an excellent living. Although he had still made comments about his plans to leave the country nearly every time she had visited, Hermione finally decided that he didn't seem too eager to do so and rarely worried about it anymore.

Most of their time was spent together quietly reading, discussing various potions and charms and, on the odd occasion when Severus was feeling open, talking about the past. It was those times that Hermione had cherished the most. When she had first attempted to learn more about him, after she believed him to be dead, she had often wondered about his past. Now, they were finally at a point in their relationship where if she had a question, she could just ask and not have to worry that he would kick her out, even if he wouldn't necessarily answer it to her satisfaction. She couldn't help but admit that she felt a certain amount of pride that she knew more about Severus Snape than anyone else ever had, save for Dumbledore and Lily. Severus was such a private man and he trusted almost no one. It still amazed Hermione that he had extended that trust to her.

Occasionally Harry would join her on her visits, although, if Hermione was feeling truthful, she would admit that she preferred it when he didn't. Even though he always meant well by it, and he certainly did his best to put aside those years of hard feelings, the conversation always felt strained when he was there. They had very little in common with each other, aside from Lily and neither was interested in conversing with the other about her.

Hermione also knew that Severus didn't feel comfortable with the Harry, yet. He had spent too many years holding too much hostility towards the young man to be able to change over night, or even over the course of a year. At Hermione's request, he had at least attempted to be polite and she knew that more than once he had bit back comments about Harry's father. His attempts to change decades' worth of hatred only increased Hermione's respect for Severus but she wasn't sure it would be enough to forge a friendship between himself and Harry.

One person that had never joined them, though, was Ron. When Hermione had first told him that she wanted to befriend Severus, he had laughed at her. When she had told him that Severus had accepted her friendship he had stopped laughing. Ron had never been the most secure of people and it seemed that their former professor always brought out the worst in him. Even though Hermione had told him time and time again that there was nothing more to her relationship with Severus than friendship, it was never enough for Ron. Eventually they had just stopped talking about it. Instead, Hermione usually made her visits to Severus correspond to the times when Ron was working late on Auror duty or he was out with friends.

He had also made it very clear that he didn't want Severus coming to visit them at their house. It was for this reason that her and Severus's friendship was confined to his small house. If they were spotted together anywhere in the Wizarding world, it would have caused such gossip that Hermione knew Ron's pride would be hurt. She didn't think his insecurity could handle reading in _The Daily Prophet _about her and Severus's relationship. Especially if the words came from Rita Skeeter's twisted little mind.

As Hermione stepped out of the shower and began to dry off, she thought about the very different relationships she shared with the two very different men. Generally, she avoided thinking of the two of them at the same time because the inevitable conclusions she came to made her feel incredibly uncomfortable. Why did it always seem that it was _Severus _who she had more in common with? After all, it was Ron that she had been friends with since she was just twelve years old. It was Ron who she had fought next to countless times during their years at Hogwarts. It was Ron that she was supposed to spend the rest of her life with.

_I shouldn't even need to compare them_, she thought bitterly_. If only Ron would be more understanding. I shouldn't have to pick between my boyfriend and my friend._

Still, she couldn't help but feel some nagging guilt. Could she honestly say that there was nothing to her relationship with Severus but friendship? Certainly they had no physical relationship; they rarely had any more contact than an occasional pat on the arm and it was always initiated by her. Even now, after all the time they had spent together, Severus would never lower his guard enough to be considered affectionate in any way.

In fact, lately Hermione had noticed that Severus would completely avoid touching her at all. More than once she had caught Severus quickly move aside or step back rather than allow their bodies to come into any kind of contact. It was unsettling to Hermione and it hurt her feelings. She couldn't understand what she had done to cause this sort of reaction in him. She had very little experience with men aside from Ron and Severus wasn't like any other man she knew anyway. She wasn't sure what to make of his behavior and there wasn't anyone who she could ask.

Still, sometimes when she and Severus were together, she would get an odd,fluttering feeling in her stomach. One that she remembered feeling once upon a time with Ron. And occasionally when she was watching Severus brew, her mind would daydreamabout the other things he could be doing with his hands. This always left her flustered and confused. It felt like confused seemed to be the best word to describe her feelings lately.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the front door slamming shut.

"Hermione?" she heard Ron's voice call out to her. "You here?"

"In here," she called back and mentally cursed to herself. It seemed he wasn't working as late as she had been hoping. She heard footsteps moving towards the bathroom and he opened the door and stuck his head in.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"What does it look like?" she snapped. She was overcompensating for her own guilt with anger and she winced at her tone.

"What do you need a shower for? I thought you were just going to stay in tonight."

Hermione was regretting that lie now, but there was nothing she could do but tell him the truth. It would only be worse if she tried to cover it up even more.

"Well, you know, it's one year ago today that we discovered Severus. I thought I'd go see him for a little bit."

Ron frowned. Hermione knew that he hated it when she called Severus by his first name.

"Oh, I see. Well I wouldn't want to keep _Sevie _waiting for you_."_

If Hermione hadn't been so annoyed, she would have laughed. Ron's insecurity followed such a predictable pattern.

"Well, I wouldn't have made plans if I had known you were going to be home." Hermione wasn't sure if she was being honest or not, but she really didn't feel like fighting.

"Well, since I am home you can just stay here with me, then. I'm sure _Sevie_ won't mind if you cancel your plans."

"I can't do that," Hermione said, performing a drying spell on her hair. "I told him I'd be by and cancelling wouldn't be very nice."

"You could just owl him." Ron was dangerously close to pouting and Hermione felt torn between feeling guilty and being annoyed. As she thought about it, she realized that those two emotions seemed to be going hand in hand with Ron lately.

"I don't want to owl him, Ron. I want to go see him. He's a friend of mine."

Hermione watched various emotions play across Ron's face. It seemed he couldn't decide what to feel either. Just when she was sure he was going to start yelling, though, he slumped against the door, looking defeated.

"And what am I, Hermione?" he asked quietly. She was shocked by the serious tone to his voice. Ron had always been one for yelling and bluster. A serious, heartfelt conversation had always seemed too much for him.

"You're my boyfriend," Hermione replied. "And my best friend." _Sort of_, she thought quickly to herself.

"Then why don't I feel like it? You always seem to be running me out and I have a feeling it's just so you can go see Snape. Since when did he become more important in your life than me?"

"He's not more important than you, Ron," Hermione scoffed, but her heart wasn't in it. His words had a ring of truth to them that made Hermione feel a little sick.

"Then why can't you stay home with me tonight?"

"Because tonight is important, Ron," Hermione replied impatiently. "If it was any other night…"

"Do you really think thatI don't know you go to see him every time I'm working late?" Ron interrupted. "You know, I might not have earned eleven O.W.L.s like you did, but I'm not stupid and I _am_ an Auror. I can tell when someone is sneaking around."

"I am _not_ sneaking around." Hermione said, but the words lacked conviction. She knew it was a lie.

_When did I get myself into this mess_? She thought to herself as she looked away from Ron guiltily. _How did I get myself into this mess? I've never snuck around before. Even when Ron didn't like what I was doing, I have always told him the truth. Why would I act this way if Severus and I are only friends?_

Ron sighed heavily and leaned his head back against the door, closing his eyes. His lack of anger made Hermione more concerned than anything. This quiet calm was completely out of character for him.

"Hermione," he said quietly, now opening his eyes to look at her, "maybe we should take some time to figure out if this is what we both really want."

Hermione stared at him in shock. Whatever she had been expecting him to say, that was not it.

"Are you… are you breaking up with me?" she asked in disbelief. Ron looked away and shifted uncomfortably on his feet.

"I dunno," he muttered, still not meeting her gaze. "Maybe I just need time to figure some things out."

"Wait a minute," Hermione said. "What things would _you_ need to figure out? Aren't you just upset because I'm friends with Severus?"

Now it was Ron who looked flushed and embarrassed. "Well… that's part of it."

"Part of it?" Hermione could feel her voice rise.

"Hermione…" Ron paused and seemed to be searching for words. "We never see each other any more. You're always gone doing your own thing and I'm at work a lot. It just feels like we've grown apart."

As painful as the words were to hear, Hermione could feel the truth to them. She walked passed him into the living room and sat down on the sofa with a thud. Ron watched her for a moment and she supposed he was waiting for her to begin yelling. But she didn't have it in her to yell.

"Well…" Ron paused again. "Maybe I should just go stay at The Burrow for a bit."

Hermione nodded, but her lips refused to form words. When had this happened? When had her flawlessly planned life begin to fall apart? An hour ago her life was normal, almost perfect. It was shocking how quickly life could change.

_And why_, she thought to herself as Ron went into the bedroom to pack a bag, _am I not crying? Shouldn't I be begging him to stay? Telling him how much I love him_?

It was this realization, more than anything, that stunned her. She had always considered Ron to be a permanent part of her life. Someone that would be there for her, her entire life. Although she had never been particularly prone to silly, female day dreaming, she had still been fantasizing about their life together since her fourth year at Hogwarts.

She spent the next hour in a haze of conflicted emotions while Ron hastily packed a bag. There was an awkward good-bye in which neither of them were too sure how to behave and, as soon as he had left, Hermione collapsed back onto the sofa and eventually fell into a fitful sleep. It wasn't until the next morning, however, that she realized she had forgotten entirely about her plans with Severus.

* * *

It was late again the next day before Hermione could manage to get away from her job. She had owled Severus earlier and apologized for the previous night, but there had been no response.

Knowing that there was nothing waiting for her at home except an empty flat and a grouchy Crookshanks, Hermione Apparated straight to just outside Severus's home. The curtains were drawn as usual, but she was surprised to see there was no light on in the sitting room. It was already getting dark outside and Severus usually spent his evenings reading. She hurried up the front walk and knocked quickly on his door.

It took several minutes before she heard muffled footsteps coming from inside. The door cracked open for a moment and, when he saw who it was, Severus opened the door the rest of the way. Without a word, he turned and walked back into the sitting room.

Hermione felt her anger mount. She had just had a miserable evening the day before, perhaps the worst since the end of the war, and Severus was pouting.

"Did you get my owl?" she asked, following him. He didn't stop in the sitting room as she had expected but instead opened a hidden door and walked down a small hallway to the minuscule kitchen.

"Your owl was not necessary," Severus responded. "It didn't matter to me whether you showed up or not. At least I did not have to put up with your incessant talking."

Hermione sighed and watched Severus as he poured himself a cup of tea. For a moment, she thought he was going to walk away from her again but, at the last minute, he paused and turned back to her.

"So what was the cause of your delay?"

Now that Severus had asked, Hermione found she didn't want to talk about it. She opened her mouth, but no words would come out and so she closed it again, swallowing hard. Severus, sensing something was seriously wrong, set down his cup.

"Hermione?" he asked, moving to stand next to her. "What has happened?"

Hermione was surprised by the sudden tears that formed in her eyes. She had not cried once the night before and had managed to make it through her day without breaking down. Now, when she wanted nothing more than to appear unconcerned and unaffected, her body had decided to betray her.

"Ron," she said with a sigh. Severus watched her for another moment and then moved back to the stove to pour her a cup of tea as well. Once his back was turned, Hermione was able to quickly wipe at her eyes, removing any trace of her distress.

"And what has Mr. Weasley done now?" Severus asked as he handed her the cup. Ron had been a frequent source of Hermione's frustration and Severus had always made his feelings about the boy known. She sipped the hot liquid for a moment before sitting down at the old, scarred table and answering.

"We decided that we needed some time apart." Hermione fought to keep her voice under control and was only mildly successful. Severus raised an eyebrow but otherwise made no sign of surprise.

"I see." There was another moment of silence before he spoke again. "And how do you feel about this decision?"

Hermione sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know what to think. It all happened so fast. One minute my life was normal, and in the next, Ron was moving back to The Burrow."

Severus frowned and sat down next to her. She was surprised by his action; normally Severus avoided any sort of close contact. She was glad for it, though. There was something comforting about sitting next to him and she found that she had to refrain from moving even closer.

"You know I am not very good at giving advice," Severus said quietly after several minutes of silence. "However, if you would like to discuss it, I would be willing to listen to you."

Hermione couldn't help but feel touched by Severus's offer. Although their friendship had grown during the past year, she knew he still wasn't comfortable in these types of situations.

"Thank you," she said with a small smile and, without really realizing what she was doing, reached out and covered his hand with her own.

Severus stiffened and quickly pulled away. Before Hermione could even react, he stood and carried his cup to the sink.

"I never believed you and Mr. Weasley to be well suited," he said as he cast the Scouring Charm on his cupand set it on the counter. "However, I am sure that does not minimize your pain. I am sorry."

Hermione gave him a sad smile as he turned back to her. "The odd thing, is that I don't even feel as upset as I think I should. And that makes me more upset. Does that make any sense?"

"Surprisingly, quite a bit." Severus regarded her for a moment before motioning with his head. "Come. I have something I would like to show you."

Severus walked through to the back door that led out into a small, overgrown garden. Hermione knew the way well; it was the way to the small shed in which Severus kept his potions lab. They carefully walked down the stone path, narrowly avoiding the Devil's Snare which Severus casually cast a hex on as they passed.

The outside of the shed looked run down and decrepit, but Hermione knew that the inside was anything but. It was meticulously clean, well organized and met the exacting standards of a man that had spent virtually his entire adult life being forced to deal with messy and unruly children. There was always an odd mix of smells when the door was first opened, often times unpleasant ones. But this time, it seemed that Severus was doing very little brewing at the moment, and there was just a faint, fruity smell as Hermione stepped inside. She looked at him curiously, wondering what it was that he had wanted to show her.

Severus did not hesitate as he walked across the room and Hermione followed him. He stopped at the small desk that he kept in the corner where he often times would do research. It was unusually uncluttered, Hermione noticed, except for a small package wrapped in brown paper and a crumpled piece of parchment tossed in the corner. She winced as she noticed her own handwriting on the parchment. It was the note she had sent him earlier in the day.

Obviously hoping she wouldn't see it, Severus quickly grabbed the wrinkled note and shoved it into a pocket of his robes. He then picked up the wrapped package and handed it to her.

"What is this?" she asked, surprised. Severus smirked at her.

"I believe it is commonly referred to as a gift."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Yes, I understand what a gift is. What I meant was, why are you giving me one?"

Now Severus looked uncomfortable, nervous even. He fixed his eyes on a point just past her head and spoke. "It is a token of gratitude. I had intended to give it to you yesterday. If you hadn't… ah… rescued me, I would most likely be dead right now."

"Oh!" Hermione felt unusually flustered. "You know I don't want any gifts from you. Besides it was Harry who--"

"I have already expressed my appreciation to Potter," Severus interrupted. Hermione raised an eyebrow. Severus had given Harry a gift? Surely the earth had shifted off its axis with such an event.

"May I ask what you gave him?" she asked timidly.

"Are you more interested in Potter's gift or your own?" Severus snapped, his face now so red from embarrassment that he resembled Neville more than himself. "If you must know, I had some pictures of his mother. From when she was young. I thought he might appreciate them."

Hermione reached out to touch Severus's arm but he backed away quickly, once again avoiding any contact with her. She frowned and took a step back, feeling awkward and unsure of herself.

"Are you going to open it?" he asked.

"Of course." Hermione smiled up at him, but it felt a little forced. She couldn't understand how one minute he could act so kind to her and the next so cold.

She turned the package over in her hands. It was heavy, but flat. She was almost certain it was a book. Curious as to what kind of book Severus had decided to bestow upon her, she carefully unwrapped it, revealing a thick, hand bound journal with a leather cover. As she opened it up, she saw that the pages were covered in Severus's sharp, spiky handwriting. She looked up at him curiously and he answered her unasked question.

"If you will recall, you once asked me about all of the spells and potions I have invented."

Hermione did remember it well. On her first visit to his house, the day after he had left Hogwarts, she had been unable to contain her curiosity about the stasis spell he had used. He had reluctantly answered her questions, but it had only led to more questions about other spells and he had finally cut her off, insisting that he was not well enough recovered to be pestered in such a manner. She had never brought the subject up again, realizing that Severus preferred to share his knowledge on his own terms rather than have it forced out of him.

"I have written down all of my inventions as well as the variations I created on known spells and potions."

"It's wonderful Severus!" Hermione exclaimed as she began paging through the journal. There was much more information here than had ever been contained in his old Potions textbook. "This must have taken you ages."

"Not ages," he said. "Just the past year."

"You have been working on this, all this time?" Hermione glanced up at him, tearing her eyes away from his written words. Even now, she was amazed at how often Severus could surprise her. He was a much more kind and loyal man than she would have ever imagined. "This was so generous of you. I can't tell you how much I am going to enjoy reading this."

"Well, it is easier than trying to answer all of your bloody questions," Severus mumbled but from the gleam in his eyes, Hermione could tell he was pleased by her reaction.

Without another word, Hermione immediately went and sat down in the rickety chair he had pulled up at the desk and began reading in earnest. Severus watched her, looking amused for a moment and then he returned to the potion he had been working on.

They sat in companionable silence for the next few hours; the quiet only interrupted when Hermione requested clarification on something he had written. Eventually, though, her eyes began to feel gritty and she realized just how late it was. Just as the thought was going through her head, she felt a shadow fall over the desk and saw that Severus was standing over her.

"You need to rest," he said as she yawned loudly. "I am going to assume that you had a difficult night last night. You should be at home, asleep."

Hermione didn't like the reference to her unpleasant evening the day before. She had managed to not think about it since Severus had first handed her the journal and she wished she could go longer without having to think about it again. Even more, she wished she did not have to go home to the empty flat and be left to wonder if Ron was ever going to return or if this really was the end to their relationship.

"You're right," she said reluctantly. "And it has been a long couple of days. I didn't even tell you about the incident with the niffler."

"Niffler?" Severus asked with a small smile. "I recall those creatures coming in handy with Dolores Umbridge. Please, do tell me all about it."

As they walked back to the house, Hermione told Severus about the problems at the Magical Menagerie. She was pleased that he was appropriately sympathetic, even if he did laugh a little too loudly when she explained how she had to fight one of them off of her when it caught sight of her gold necklace. Severus let her in through the back door and together they walked through the house to the front hall.

"Thank you again for the journal, Severus," she said, smiling. She reached forward in an attempt to give him a hug, when he backed away, yet again. Feeling hurt and confused as to why he continued to behave this way, she glared at him. "Why do you keep doing that?"

"Doing what?" he asked a little too hastily to be considered genuine confusion.

"I know you don't care for physical contact, but honestly, am I that horrible? Can't I even show you my appreciation without being treated like I have Dragon Pox?"

"We do not need to be having this conversation," Severus replied coldly. "It is late and you need to be getting home."

"Not until you answer me," Hermione replied stubbornly. "Am I really so disgusting?"

"I told you I didn't want to discuss this!" Severus insisted.

"But why not? If we're friends, I should be able to give you a hug without worrying about your reaction."

"Must you be so stubborn?" Severus snapped. "I don't have the time nor the inclination to discuss this. Now if you will kindly leave me alone, I could have some peace and quiet."

Severus turned away from her, intent upon getting away as quickly as possible. Hermione felt the last of her patience snap and she grabbed a hold of his arm, spinning him around to face her.

"Damn it Severus!" she shouted. "Stop trying to avoid me and answer the question!"

"No!" Severus yelled. Hermione jumped at the force of his response. He had a pained look on his face as if he had just been forced to admit something distasteful. "You do not disgust me, Hermione. Far from it."

"Then why do you--"

She was cut off suddenly as Severus grabbed her by her upper arms and pushed her against the wall. As his body pressed up against hers, she had a vague thought that this was far better than the platonic hug they had just been arguing over.

"Merlin, Hermione, for such a brilliant woman sometimes you can be incredibly stupid." His mouth was so close to her ear that she could feel his breath on her neck. "I avoid touching you because I know that if I do, I won't be able to stop."

Hermione turned her head to look at him and instead felt his mouth covering hers. For a second she stiffened, shocked by such a swift turn of events, and then she felt his hand reach around to cup the back of her neck. Giving in, she opened her mouth to him, whimpering as his tongue invaded her mouth.

They stood that way for several long minutes, kissing frantically and pressed up against each other. It was only when Severus reached up to cup her breast that Hermione was suddenly brought back to her senses and realized that here she was, a day after the man she thought she was in love with had left her, snogging her former professor in his front hall. Without thinking, she pulled away.

"Severus," she whispered, trying to put some space between them. It took a minute before Severus even registered what she was doing. "Severus… I can't."

Those words seemed to have the same effect as a bucket of cold water on the man in front of her. He immediately stopped and looked at her. The expression of pain on his face was heartbreaking to Hermione and she understood its source all too well. This was a man who had experienced nothing but rejection in his life. If she didn't explain herself, he would think she was rejecting him as well.

"Not… not right now," she said, plaintively, hoping he would understand. "It's too… I mean, Ron just…"

As soon as she said Ron's name she saw the pain disappear from his face and a mask of complete indifference take its place.

"I apologize," he said in an agonizingly calm voice. "I have behaved inappropriately. I assure you, it will not happen again."

"That's not what I mean. I… I enjoyed it as well." Hermione felt horribly awkward and was completely unsure of how to explain her own feelings. "I just… I just need to sort some things out first."

"Of course." Severus bent down and picked up the journal that Hermione had dropped. He handed it to her and then took a step back, once again forcing himself to put space between the two of them.

"I suppose I'll just go then," Hermione sighed. "I'm sorry. I've made a mess of things haven't I?"

"If anyone has made an error in judgment, it is I." Severus's voice was so formal that it made Hermione nervous.

She gave a small nod and turned to open the door. As she stepped outside, she turned back to look at him. For a moment, his mask had dropped again and she saw him give her a look so powerful that she felt herself robbed of breath. Never had anyone given her such an intense look before. Not Victor and certainly never Ron. She tried to smile at him, but she must have been unsuccessful because his mask went back into place.

"Good-night, Severus." she said.

"Good-bye, Hermione."

It wasn't until later, as she climbed wearily into bed, that Hermione thought his choice of words was a bit odd. Two days later, when she returned to the small house on Spinner's End, she finally understood the significance of them.

She had intended to explain herself further. Explain that she _did_ have feelings for him. Very strong feelings, as a matter of fact. And that if he would just give her a little time she would be more than willing to act on them. But as she walked up to the front door, she saw that the sitting room was once again dark, and this time, no amount of knocking would bring Severus to the door. Immediately, Hermione felt a sense of foreboding, but told herself that surely he was just in his lab working.

For a moment she paused, unsure of how to proceed. She was sure that _Alohomora_ wouldn't work, but she wasn't sure what else to do. She pulled out her wand and cast the spell quickly. When she heard the telltale click of the door unlocking, she became even more concerned. Severus had far too many enemies to actually leave his home unwarded, even if he was inside. Especially if he was inside.

And as she pushed open the door and walked into the sitting room, she stared in shock-- and with a pain in her heart -- at the empty bookshelves. Severus Snape was gone.


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N: Wow!! Thank you so much for all your kind reviews. This is the last chapter. I hope you enjoy it! And of course, thank you to RenitaLeandra for all her work._

* * *

Chapter 4

Severus stared bleakly out the kitchen window and into the howling darkness outside. The wind and rain had picked up considerably over the past hour and, if he was translating his French correctly, the Muggle television was telling him it was gradually going to get worse until early morning. It suited him just fine, though. He was in the mood for this angry, violent sort of weather and he was viciously glad that other people were going to be forced to spend their Christmas as miserable as he was.

He had spent many Christmases alone over the course of his lifetime. When Severus was a child, his father had usually spent the day at a local pub while his mother, after giving him a small gift and a pat on the head, spent the day melancholy up in her bedroom wondering where her life had gone wrong. Once he had started at Hogwarts, though, he had made it a point to never return home except when forced to do so in the summer. More often then not, he was the only Slytherin in the common room over break.

When he started his teaching position at Hogwarts, he had been required to be involved in the festivities, but by then it was against his nature and it had always made him feel uncomfortable and strained. Dumbledore had always given him some small token but that had been the extent of it.

In fact, the only Christmas that had ever been even remotely enjoyable had been the one from the year before. Hermione had come to visit after spending the morning with her parents and the afternoon with the Weasleys. She had stopped by, early in the evening, with a wrapped gift of rare potion ingredients on one arm and a bag full of leftovers from her parents on the other. They had spent the evening in front of the fire, eating turkey sandwiches and mince pie and playing a game of chess.

He supposed it was that one happy experience that had ruined his mood this year. He didn't want to think about that Christmas night he had spent with Hermione. In fact, he didn't want to think about Hermione at all.

He often times tried to figure out where he had gone wrong. Tried to pinpoint when, exactly, he had broken his most important rule and allowed himself to become close to someone. He should have recognized the warning signs from the very beginning when she had met him outside Hogwarts and announced her intention to become his friend. But he hadn't. The novelty of civil conversation had been too alluring. Even if it was from someone that he had never previously considered an equal, let alone a friend.

As the months had passed, he had noticed that he began looking forward to her visits with increased anticipation. He remembered the night, a couple months after he had woken from the spell, when she had finally worked up the courage to call him by his first name. It was the first time she had truly treated him as a friend and not a former professor. If he wanted to, he could still recall the small pleasant surge he had felt and promptly attempted to squash. It was then that he knew it was too late. Any hope of keeping his distance was lost.

He had tried to anyway. His sense of self-preservation had told him to back away. To keep her at arms length rather than risk the inevitable pain of disappointment. Eventually, as the months passed and his feelings increased, he had even gone so far as to try to avoid her touch even if he couldn't bring himself to rid himself of her company. But it hadn't worked. And in the end, when Hermione had confronted him the last night he had seen her, he had realized he could no longer hide his feelings. That thought had scared him more than all the Death Eater meetings in the world.

He turned away from the window and moved restlessly through the old, stone farmhouse he had purchased almost a year ago. Back then, he had still thought that he would leave Britain as soon as he was in the position financially and, although it was larger than anything he had needed, the house and its private location had appealed to him. As it happened, he had become financially secure just a few short months later.He had developed an experimental healing potion that the Ministry had paid handsomely for, but by then he had grown too comfortable. He couldn't bring himself to leave behind the friendship that had come to mean so much to him. That was, until the night in August when everything had changed.

Generally, he avoided thinking about that night, but his mood was foul enough that he almost enjoyed the pain that it brought to him now. How had he so completely misunderstood her feelings? Was he really so socially inept that he couldn't tell the difference between his own romantic feelings and her feelings that clearly didn't extend beyond friendship?

Granted, she had tried letting him down easy. Implying that she just needed time. Were he a different man, with different past experience, he might have believed her. But his past told him that that would be a foolish thought. Besides, he had felt her resist him when he had first kissed her. He was disgusted with himself when he thought of how he had forced himself on her. He had only come to his senses when she had physically pushed him away. Better to cut off the relationship before he caused any more damage.

It was at the moment when she was walking out the door, that Severus decided it was time to leave. He had packed only those belongings that were important to him, made contact with the French Ministère de la Magie--courtesy of Kingsley Shacklebolt -- and left in less than forty-eight hours. He had no idea if Hermione had tried coming back to his little house, although he suspected she had. Her Gryffindor sense of honor wouldn't have allowed her to end the friendship that she had so desperately wanted to start in the first place.

And now, four months later, he stared outside watching the ferocious storm. It had prompted warnings and closings virtually throughout the entire country and was being called the worst storm in fifty years. As he watched the trees bending in the wind, Severus couldn't help but wonder what she was doing. He wondered what might have changed in the four months since he last saw her. Had she and Weasley patched things up? He couldn't imagine why the boy would have walked away from her, even if he was a fool. He had surely come crawling back within a few days, begging her to take him back.

Once again, there was another update on the storm and Severus only half listened to the Muggle television announcer. Living as he was, in a country that he wasn't entirely familiar with, Severus had decided to give the appearance of being a Muggle to his neighbors; even if the closest ones were a quarter mile down the road. He had bought Muggle appliances, generally wore Muggle clothes and had discovered television which had helped him to improve his French tremendously.

His neighbors were polite but aloof and that suited him just fine. They seemed a little curious about their tall, dark haired British neighbor who wore nothing but black, but they kept their curiosity at a distance and, on the rare occasions that they spoke, never asked him questions of his past.

All in all, it would have been the most enjoyable time in Severus's life had it not been for the fact that he once again found himself completely alone. There was no one that he could accurately call a friend or even that he would qualify as friendly.

Unable to contain his restlessness, Severus finally sat down on the faded sofa in front of the living room and reached for the book he had been reading. Perhaps he could forget about Hermione if his mind was occupied.

An hour later, Severus decided his idea was only marginally successful. Although he was able to keep his mind engaged, the howling wind was increasingly distracting himto the point that he felt the need to charm the windows against breaking. He moved through the house, meticulously placing the spells on each pane and was just finishing when he thought he heard a knock at the door.

_Nonsense_, he thought to himself. _No one in their right mind would be out in this weather._

A moment later he heard it again. _Just the wind_, he told himself. When the knock came for a third time, Severus walked to the front window and peered out into the dark. Sure enough, the faint outline of a hunched figure in a dark cloak could be seen on his front step.

"Probably some foolishMuggle," he mumbled to himself, reaching for the doorknob. "Couldn't manage to stay inside and got themselves stranded."

But when he opened the door, it was obvious this was no foolish Muggle. It was a foolish witch. More specifically, a foolish bushy haired, know-it-all witch named Hermione Granger.

He stared at her dumbfounded for a moment before she looked cautiously up at him and said, "M-m-may I c-come i-in?"

Forced out of his reverie by her words, Severus realized that the wind and rain were pouring into his house and the door was in considerable danger of being blown off its hinges.

"Bloody hell, woman!" he nearly shouted, realizing just what a risk she had taken to come out in this weather. As he pulled her by the arm into the warmth of the house he could feel her shivering under her soaked clothing. "Are you trying to kill yourself?"

Hermione's teeth were chattering so hard she couldn't respond and she looked pale and tired. Severus pulled out his wand and, after casting a drying spell that only seemed to work half-way, called out, "_Accio blankets_!"

Two wool blankets came flying down the stairs from his bedroom and he wrapped her tightly in them before leading her to the sofa and forcing her to sit down. It was only then, as she looked up at him from the blankets off of his bed, that it sunk in that Hermione was actually sitting here. In his house. In _France_. He sat down on an armchair across from her and stared at her, trying to decide what question to ask first.

"What are you doing here?" he finally asked when he thought he could control his voice sufficiently.

Hermione shrugged her shoulders and blushed a little. She lifted her arm up to show she was holding a bag. One that, from the looks of it, contained leftover dinner. Remembering their Christmas from the year before, Severus guessed it was from her parents' house.

"Happy Christmas," she said timidly, while he continued to stare at her. "I thought… well, I had hoped anyway…" Her voice trailed away and Severus looked at her, confused.

"You had thought what?"

"Well, I realize it's awfully presumptuous of me, coming here when you made it clear that you want nothing more to do with me. But I figured you'd be alone and… what I mean is…" She broke off again, blushing furiously. "I'm not saying anything right, am I? What I mean, is that I thought perhaps you'd like some company."

As Severus listened to her talk, there was only one thought that entered his brain. Hermione was here. Because she _wanted _to be. She had traveled to another country, and braved the worst storm in decades to bring him Christmas dinner. Suddenly the world seemed a much more cheerful place.

"You… you think I do not want your company?" he asked, when his brain had sufficiently recovered in order to speak again.

"That's why you left, isn't it?" Hermione asked.

Severus had never before considered how Hermione would interpret his hasty departure. He had been so consumed with his own feelings of self-pity and disappointment. He supposed that he just thought she had continued to go on about her life, unconcerned. But now, he realized how foolish that thought had been. Hermione was not the kind of person to just forget about her friends. Now that Severus looked at her, he realized she looked just as unhappy as he felt and that thought put the faintest glimmer of hope in his heart.

"Hermione," he said, "I apologize if you were under the impression that I dislike you. I can assure you that you are mistaken."

"Oh," she replied softly. "I just thought… I thought I had made you angry that night."

"No. You did not."

Hermione smiled at this and Severus felt a painful tightening in his chest as he watched her. _This is why I left you_, he thought to himself as she burrowed herself further into his blankets. _It is too painful and I cannot bear the disappointment_.

Rather than expressing his thoughts, however, he instead rose and walked into the kitchen. He poured a cup of tea, adding sugar and milk precisely as he knew Hermione liked it, and returned to the living room with her tea in hand. She accepted it gratefully and, when her fingers brushed against his, he forced himself not to pull away too hastily.

When she had finished drinking her tea, she sat back on the sofa with a contented sigh.

"Thank you," she said. She regarded him for a moment before smiling again. "Aren't you even curious as to how I found you? I would hate to think I went through this much work without the proper appreciation."

Severus had to admit, he _was_ curious. He had not kept in contact with anyone from Britain and, for reasons of security, chose to go under an assumed name here in France. He had no desire for anyone other than the highest levels of the French wizarding government to know that a former Death Eater was living in their country.

"How did you find me?" he asked.

"Well, all right, I suppose it wasn't _that_ much work. Being friends with the Minister of Magic certainly helps. I've actually been trying to find you for some time. It took some convincing, but finally, a few weeks ago I got Kingsley to at least tell me you had moved to France. He insisted he didn't know where exactly in France you were living, though."

"He was right," Severus said. "All I requested from him was a list of Potions contacts. Turns out, he was very helpful in that respect. It seems he worked out some sort of potions dispute in the early days after the war. When the Ministère de la Magie learned of my connection to him, they were only too happy to give me business."

Hermione was quiet for a moment before speaking again, apparently digesting all he was telling her. "So anyway, after that I contacted the Ministère but that wasn't very easy. It seems they take your identity very seriously. In the end it was Fleur Weasley who was able to get the information for me."

The mention of Ron Weasley's sister-in-law made Severus wince a little. Apparently, Hermione was still in contact with the Weasley family and friendly enough to be able to call in favors. He didn't want to think about what that meant regarding her relationship with the youngest boy.

"All she was able to get, though, was the area you were living in. You have done a good job of keeping yourself hidden. It seems that no one actually knows where you live."

"So then how did you find me?"

"I asked the Muggles," Hermione said shrugging her shoulders. "They were a bit reluctant to come to the door in this weather and, if my French is correct, more than one questioned my sanity. But I got the answer quickly enough. You're a distinctive looking person and, sure enough, as soon as I began describing you, I was directed here."

Severus was amazed. Hermione had gone to the highest levels of two countries' governments to find him and she acted as if it was of little consequence. He couldn't fathom why she would do such a thing. Covering up his own curiosity, he searched for another, safer topic of conversation.

"I assume that if you have traveled all this way, you would at least like to see more of the house than the living room."

She rose, still clutching one of the blankets, and followed Severus. At first the conversation seemed forced, as they both tried to ignore the fact that the last time they had been in the same room, Severus had had his tongue down her throat. But eventually their old friendship overrode any awkwardness and they chatted amicably. Finally, they ended up in the kitchen, eating sandwiches made from the leftovers that were, indeed, from Hermione's parents. Luckily she had thought to use an _Impervius_ charm on the bag so at least the food hadn't been ruined. By the time they got to the pudding, Hermione declared that she was now warm and dry, and had discarded the blanket.

"So why are you not spending the evening with the Weasleys?" Severus asked as, he finished his last bite of pudding. He knew he could very well regret the answer, but his curiosity was too great to leave the question unanswered. Hermione gave him a strange look.

"Why would I be at the Weasleys'?"

"Wouldn't you want to be spending the day with Ron?" Severus asked, deciding to throw caution to the wind and get to the heart of the matter. He held his breath, afraid of the answer, until Hermione burst into laughter. He looked up at her cautiously.

"Well, I don't think his girlfriend would have appreciated it much," Hermione said, still chuckling.

Severus released the breath he had been holding. "His girlfriend?"

"Yes." Hermione gave him a knowing look that convinced Severus that either he was too obvious or she had become skilled in Legilimency over the last several months. She leaned forward and grasped his hand from across the table. It took all of his willpower to not pull away. "Severus, Ron and I never got back together again. We both agreed that we are better off as friends."

"I see," Severus said, hoping that his voice was calm and that she couldn't feel how quickly his heart was racing, just from touching her hand. They sat in silence for another moment, until he felt like he had sufficient control over his emotions. "Why are you here, Hermione?"

Now it was Hermione who looked nervous and uncomfortable. She withdrew her hand and Severus immediately mourned its loss.

"I suppose I'm here to ask you a question."

Had the conversation not been so serious, Severus would have laughed. Leave it to Hermione to cross the English Channel in the middle of a storm just to ask him a question.

"Very well," he said, gathering his courage. "You have gone through enough trouble to find me. The least I can do is to answer your question."

"Why did you leave? Please, give me the real reason. I have wondered about it for four months. Ever since I showed up at your house only to find it empty without a word, I have tried to figure out why you would have left."

Severus could hear the pain in her voice and it was enough to make him regrethis decision, now. At the very least, she had deserved an explanation.

"I thought…" He paused for a moment, but the pained look on Hermione's face forced him to push on forward. "I behaved badly when we last saw each other. I thrust my… affection on you when it wasn't wanted. I felt it was best for both of us if I ended the friendship. I thought if I left, then, I could spare you further interaction with me and I could spare myself…"

He broke off. Even now he couldn't bear to admit the pain she was capable of unknowingly inflicting upon him.

Hermione stared at him, dumbfounded. "You mean, you thought that I didn't have feelings for you and so you left the country? Couldn't you have at least checked with me first?"

Severus was feeling increasingly foolish but, after confessing this much, he couldn't turn back now.

"I admit, I don't have a very good record with this sort of thing. I have only cared for a woman once before, and she ended up marrying my enemy. I couldn't… I couldn't bear to watch you fall in love with another man." Severus closed his eyes. His humiliation was now complete. He might as well declare his love from the top of the Astronomy Tower.

He could hear the rustling of movement as Hermione rose out of her chair, but he couldn't bring himself to open his eyes again. Then he felt her hand on his again and she was pulling him up out of his chair. He did open his eyes, then, and Hermione was standing terribly close to him. Far too close. But the look on her face wasn't pitying or mocking as he had been so afraid it might be. Instead she pulled him even closer, wrapping her arms around him.

"You know, Severus," she whispered in his ear, "for such a brilliant man, sometimes you are incredibly stupid."

He couldn't help himself. He reached for her, cupping her face in his hands, and kissed her desperately. He reveled in the feel of her lips against his; he had been so sure that he would never experience that again. Yet, just as before, Hermione abruptly ended the kiss. Her face was serious once again.

"You know, I tried coming back. I wanted to explain that I shared your feelings but I just needed some time to sort myself out. When I returned it had only been two days and you were already gone."

Severus wrapped one of his hands in her hair and he pulled her against him. "I was an idiot," he said into her hair. "I couldn't fathom why you would have any interest in a disagreeable, bitter man like me."

Hermione lifted her head to look at him, her eyes were shining with unshed tears. "I was heartbroken," she confessed.

Severus bent his head to press a kiss to her lips. "What a foolish girl you are," he murmured, "to trust something as valuable as your heart to me."

"I guess we are both fools then, aren't we?" Hermione whispered, and Severus had to agree.

"I am so sorry, Hermione." Now that he was sure she wasn't going to either laugh at him, or run screaming from the house, he felt more comfortable expressing himself. "Please, forgive me."

Hermione gave an overly loud sigh and Severus saw her smirk at him. "Well, I suppose. Since you asked so prettily."

Severus chuckled, feeling positively light-hearted. Could it even be possible that there was still a storm raging outside when suddenly, because of this woman, there seemed to be much less darkness in the world? He kissed her again, leaving them both a bit breathless.

"So what now?" he asked. Hermione grinned at him, her brown eyes twinkling.

"Well… you never showed me the bedroom."

* * *

Severus woke suddenly, jerking awake and trying to discover what had woken him. He thought he had been dreaming, though he couldn't remember it aside from that it had been pleasant. As he rolled onto his back, he smiled to himself, remembering the previous night. It turned out that Hermione had found the tour of the bedroom most enjoyable.

He glanced to the other side of the bed and realized it was empty. Scanning the room quickly, he found Hermione standing at the windows, wrapped in one of the blankets from the night before, and looking pensive. He rose and walked over to her. The sound of his footsteps caused her to turn her head and she smiled at him. He stood behind her and looked out. The storm had lessened over the last several hours, although it was still raining heavily.

"It is normally a much nicer view," Severus said, resting his hands on her shoulders. She leaned back against him. "You will enjoy it much more on a clear day when the sun is rising."

Severus's heart was beating unusually fast as he said the words. She had not said that she was ever planning on returning, but he had already made the decision he wasn't going to let her leave his life again.

"I'm sure I will," Hermione said, putting Severus at ease. "You know, I've been thinking…"

"Surely not," Severus scoffed, mockingly. "I have never known you to think."

Hermione laughed but then turned serious again. "This is an awfully big house for just one person."

Severus's heart began pounding again. He had been terrified that she wouldn't even return. Could it be possible she wanted to live here? With him? He swallowed hard and willed his voice not to crack as he spoke.

"It is. When I bought this house, I was told that it was really more for a couple or a… a family."

"And what do you think of that?" Hermione asked, cautiously.

"I think it is a good house for a family," he whispered. Hermione turned in his arms.

"I think it is, too," she said, looking up at him and smiling.

"What about your career?" Severus asked. As soon as he spoke the words, however, he wished he could take them back. He didn't want anything ruining this chance he finally had at happiness.

"I was thinking about that," Hermione said, thoughtfully. "I don't know why I couldn't continue working at the Ministry. It really didn't take me that long to Portkey across the channel. It doesn't take much longer than Apparition, actually. And if that doesn't work out, I can find a job here in France. Their Magical Creatures Department is positively groundbreaking."

Severus couldn't help but smile at Hermione's enthusiasm. The part of him that was still sure he would wake up and find this was a dream wanted to question her further and make sure that she wouldn't end up regretting her decision. But his newly found optimistic side told that part exactly where to go and he said nothing more. Instead, Severus wrapped his arms around her and held onto her tightly. He marvelled at this woman who had somehow charmed her way into his heart. He never would have thought it possible, yet somehow she had managed to save him in more ways than just his life.

Without another word, he led her back to bed and they slid under the covers, back into each others arms, and fell asleep.


End file.
